# Dr. Andrey Yefimitch Ragin — Short Fiction character guide > Dr. Andrey Yefimitch Ragin in Short Fiction by Anton Chekhov. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Andrey Yefimitch, Yefimitch **First appearance:** 0000-a-living-chattel ## Snapshot A cultured provincial doctor who preaches the life of the mind while his own hospital rots, until colleagues quietly begin examining him instead. ## Who they are Ragin runs a filthy zemstvo hospital he has long since stopped trying to reform, preferring books, beer, and lofty conversation about how the mind alone matters. At a party, colleagues ask him what day of the month it is, and he realizes he has just been tested for madness. His cultivated indifference — to patients, to his own life — is the quiet engine of the story's middle, where philosophy meets its cost. ## Relationships ### [Ivan Ivanitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/ivan_ivanitch) _friendship_ Dr. Ragin and Ivan Ivanitch are close companions, often engaging in philosophical discussions. ### [Mihail Averyanitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/mihail_averyanitch) _friendship_ Dr. Ragin and Mihail Averyanitch are old friends, sharing a comfortable and loyal companionship. ### [Nikita](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/nikita) _professional_ Dr. Ragin and Nikita are doctor and servant/orderly, with Nikita serving as a caretaker or assistant. ### [Ivan Ivanitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/ivan_ivanitch) _friendship_ Dr. Ragin and Ivan Ivanitch are close companions, often engaging in philosophical discussions. ### [Ivan Ivanitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/ivan_ivanitch) _friendship_ Dr. Ragin and Ivan Ivanitch are close companions, often engaging in philosophical discussions. ### [Nikita](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/nikita) _professional_ Dr. Ragin and Nikita are doctor and servant/orderly, with Nikita serving as a caretaker or assistant. ### [Nikita](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/nikita) _professional_ Dr. Ragin and Nikita are doctor and servant/orderly, with Nikita serving as a caretaker or assistant. ### [Mihail Averyanitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/mihail_averyanitch) _friendship_ Dr. Ragin and Mihail Averyanitch are old friends, sharing a comfortable and loyal companionship. ### [Mihail Averyanitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/mihail_averyanitch) _friendship_ Dr. Ragin and Mihail Averyanitch are old friends, sharing a comfortable and loyal companionship. ## In the story ### [The Marshal's Widow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/the-marshal-s-widow) Doctor Dvornyagin, smelling of iodoform, brings brandy from his dispensary to revive the unconscious Alalykin. ### [A Work of Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/a-work-of-art) The doctor who receives the candelabra, finds it inappropriate for his family home, and passes it on to his lawyer friend. ### [Enemies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/enemies) A grieving doctor whose son has just died. He is initially apathetic and indifferent, but later feels contempt and hatred for Abogin and his world. ### [Darkness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/darkness) The Zemstvo doctor who is approached by Kirila but refuses to intervene in Vaska's case, citing lack of authority. ### [The Doctor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/the-doctor) The doctor treating Misha, who confronts Olga about the truth of the boy's parentage, revealing his own emotional turmoil. ### [A Dreary Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/a-dreary-story) The old professor narrating his dreary story, grappling with mortality and the meaninglessness of his achievements. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/v) The narrator, experiencing a profound fear of death and a sense of helplessness. ### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vi) Referred to as Dr. Sobol; arrives for dinner, naps, and later criticizes the narrator's actions regarding the stolen rye. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vii) Referred to as Sobol; drives with the narrator, discusses philanthropy, and stops at a tavern. ### [Ward No. 6](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/ward-no-6) The doctor who reflects on the hospital's corruption and his own complicity, and is ultimately confined to Ward No. 6. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/iii) The doctor who prescribes cold compresses and laurel drops for Ivan Dmitritch, then orders his transfer to Ward No. 6. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/iv) The doctor who is rumored to have begun visiting Ward No. 6. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/v) The chapter focuses on his character, his passive nature, his philosophical reflections on suffering and the hospital's failings, and his eventual withdrawal from active medical practice. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vi) The protagonist of the chapter; his daily routine, reading habits, and philosophical musings are detailed. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vii) Sits reading at night, contemplating immortality, the state of medicine, and his own moral compromises. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/viii) Senior doctor at the hospital, regarded by Hobotov as a sly old rascal with large means. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/ix) Visits the mental ward, converses with Ivan Dmitritch, and later reflects on their discussion. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/x) Engages in a philosophical debate with Ivan Dmitritch, defending Stoic ideals and the pursuit of inner comprehension. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xi) Begins visiting Ivan Dmitritch daily, engaging in deep conversation and neglecting his usual routines. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xii) Subjected to a humiliating mental examination by colleagues, feels bitter about medical ignorance, and is pressured to take a holiday. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xiii) Travels with Mihail Averyanitch; feels vexed by his companion's behavior and reflects on madness. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xiv) Endures his friend's company with growing vexation, lies on the sofa feigning illness, and later lends money to Mihail Averyanitch. Returns home to find himself replaced and nearly destitute. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xv) Now living in a small house, he occupies himself with cataloguing books and menial tasks, feels mortified by his lack of pension and money, and is tormented by visits from Hobotov and Mihail Averyanitch. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xvi) Loses his temper with Mihail Averyanitch and Hobotov, then feels shame and agrees to enter the hospital. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xvii) Forcibly admitted to Ward No. 6, stripped of his clothes and belongings, feels shame and dread. ### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xviii) Confronts his own weakness and terror after being imprisoned; is brutally beaten by Nikita when he tries to leave. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xix) Dies of an apoplectic stroke, indifferent to his fate and rejecting the idea of immortality. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/i) At home when Laptev visits; discusses the night-refuge and medicine. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xi) Yulia's father, who complains about his burdens, Panaurov's debts, and his son-in-law's shortcomings, and is glad to see his daughter. ### [My Life: The Story of a Provincial](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/my-life) Mentioned as a figure of intellectual and moral struggle, reflecting the narrator's own conflicts. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vi) Visits the narrator, debates philosophy, and shows interest in the narrator's sister. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vii) Referred to as Dr. Blagovo; he returns from Petersburg, argues about social movements, and encourages the narrator to visit Mariya Viktorovna. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xiii) Visits on his bicycle, argues that manual labour is unworthy of free men, and tries to persuade Masha that building the school is for culture, not the peasants. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xiv) Mentioned as Dr. Blagovo; he is the married man with children whom the sister loves, and he meets her secretly near the apple tree. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/i) Dr. Neshtchapov, a doctor and partner at the works, who visits and is described as pale, silent, and unattractive to Vera. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/ii) A silent, expressionless doctor who built a school from old bricks but shows no real interest in the peasants' welfare; he is considered interesting by the ladies and is a potential suitor for Vera. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/dr_andrey_yefimitch_ragin - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters